AntaeusEvilfeast (reminds me a lot burzum, yet, still evocative in its own way without cloning)Averse Sefira (needs no introduction)Lunar AuroraThe Ruins of BeverastNagelfar (Althought the band split, worth to check, and if I remember, Asbo uploaded their albums. The drummer is the mastermind behind The Ruins of Beverast)

Anything done by Dimmu BorgirDon't jump at me yet, that was simply a joke...

Saying that black metal died in 1996 doesn't make much sense if it was due to Filosofem's January 1st release that year.

It makes perfect sense because "Filosofem" is the epitome of Romanticist spirit in metal.

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Burzum ended black metal.

...and I think we should respect it. He raised the bar, and took black metal out of the "metal" artform into something new, and then everyone else despairing at getting farther than he had, and collapsed into sheep, so now you get boring music like Grand Belial's Key, Nachtmysticum, Deathspell Omega and the like.

I don't see art in terms of further or more innovative, but degrees of expression. Some cliche that is always true is better than something "unique" which says nothing artistically, even if musically it has some meat to it. Burzum pushed metal aesthetically, but also artistically; he actually took on the challenging and unspoken issues of our time:

It makes perfect sense because "Filosofem" is the epitome of Romanticist spirit in metal.

Lol, can you prove this?

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1996

I'd say 1995 since that was the year most of the second-wave progenitors started backing off Black Metal and either starting out the "avant-garde" route or dumbing down their aesthetics with rock/Heavy Metal.

One fucking album means nothing. Especially one that was written three years before its release.

I'ts actually a pretty good question. First of all, it should be clear that Nordic death/black metal scenes produced the most romantic metal yet expressed, as they took mythic imagination of metal music to a whole new level. The best of romantic metal:

At the Gates - The Red In The Skies Is OursDismember - Like an Ever-Flowing Stream...Therion - Beyond SanctorumSacramentum - Far Away From The Sun Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom SathanasBathory - Hammearheart/Twilight of the GodsDarkthrone - Transilvanian HungerEmperor - In the Nightside EclipseImmortal - Pure HolocaustBurzum* - Filosofem

* First four albums have nearly identical vision which gets more introverted and articulate with each succession.

Now, which of these albums is most encapsulating of other's varying moods and aspects?

I think we can safely exclude the death metal masterpieces, since their sheer energy isn't match for black metal's superior expressiveness in mood. "Transilvanian Hunger" and "Pure Holocaust" are too restricted in their aspiration of chilling rationalism. Likewise "Far Away From The Sun" and "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" are constrained by their efforts to reach most warlike and macabre art respectively, which leaves the final decision between Burzum, Bathory and Emperor.

It seems that the crypto-intellectual musings of Emperor and Bathory's apology of ancient living both find a common representation in the third work. Hence, Burzum's Filosofem is the epitome work, summary and ideal, of metal spirit. Subtlety of moods make it really powerful.

Note: this especially isn't saying that Filosofem (or Burzum in general) is the height of metal spirit, although close it may be.

Longtime ago I did a great find on this site, the band Dies Irae from Norway, and the album circle of leth... It surprised me. I believe this being the epitome of romanticism in metal and not the aforementionedbands. There's a mystery surrounding this album that and feelings I haven't reach with other albums yet.